Spurs, Villa Headline FA Cup Third Round

Attention shifts from the Premier League this weekend as the English FA Cup takes centre stage with the encounter between Tottenham and Aston Villa headlining the third round fixtures of the English football oldest competition.

Tottenham Hotspur welcome Championship side, Aston Villa to White Hart Lane in the third round of the FA Cup. The hosts are in good form with five straight wins with a win against Chelsea on Wednesday before they turn their attention to the cup.

Tottenham have not won the FA Cup since 1991, while Villa have been revived under new boss, Steve Bruce, after a disastrous start to the season in the Championship.

They sit 12th, seven points off the playoffs and see Spurs as a possible scalp, particularly if boss Mauricio Pochettino makes changes.

More importantly for Villa fans ahead of the game, unpopular referee Mike Dean has been picked to officiate.

The last time Villa played at White Hart Lane, Dean seemed to celebrate a goal scored against them. It wasn’t just a simple fist pump; he almost ran the length of the pitch.

Aston Villa fans might have thought their relegation from the Premier League would have meant no Mike Dean, for at least a season – but they were wrong!

Dean officiating a Villa match would have been enough to set the pulses racing, but the fact that it’s against Spurs will have fans fuming.

In fact, his actions in Spurs matches have seen suspicions arise about whom he actually supports. Arsenal fans actually filed a petition to the FA called ‘Prevent Mike Dean from refereeing another Arsenal game’.

Meanwhile, Reading manager, Jaap Stam,  says his side have “nothing to lose” when the promotion-chasing Championship outfit visit his former club Manchester United for an FA Cup third-round clash on Saturday.

Stam, who won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and the Champions League during a three-year stint at Old Trafford, has hailed the current United squad under manager Jose Mourinho but will arrive prepared to cause an upset.

“We’re facing a great team, a great manager. I like how he works and what he does for his team, how we gets things going… and the career that he has made, the trophies that he has won,” Stam told Reading’s official website. (www.readingfc.co.uk)

“We’re not saying we don’t have a chance. Everybody has a chance. But it’s important that we prepare well for the game and hopefully we can do well and enjoy it.”

Stam has urged the Royals to fight hard and not get intimidated against a United side unbeaten in all competitions since early November.

“We’ve got nothing to lose when we play there. We don’t want to give the tie up – we will work very hard and we are going to fight for it,” the Dutchman added.

“And there is no need for the players to get nervous because of the crowd or the game – they need to enjoy it.

“Obviously, you enjoy it much more if you get a result but this is an opportunity for the players, the team, the club to show themselves to the world in what we are trying to do here.”

Reading are currently third in the Championship, eight points behind leaders Brighton after 24 games in Stam’s first season at the club.